RELEASE: A Bad Boy Hitman Romance

by Naomi West

  And to make it even better, he was going to pay her? She could still work just fine and be there for Damian. She didn’t need that income. But now it was like Hawk was paying her to investigate Hugh’s murder.

  She stood in her living room, looking around. The place was a mess of boxes, some closed, some half unpacked, and other random items sitting around, needing a place to be. Tonight, she would put in a frozen pizza, drink a glass or two of wine, and focus on the house. She wanted this place to be put away quickly, especially if she wasn’t going to be there all day to work on it between doing other work.

  She made it through three boxes of kitchen items when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw her sister’s name.

  “Hey, Cait,” she said, tapping on the speakerphone so she could continue to work while talking.

  “Hey, Lex, how’s the new place?”

  “Coming along. I still have tons of boxes to unpack, but I think the kitchen is almost done.”

  “Good, glad to hear it,” Caitlyn said. “I hope to get out there soon to see it.”

  “Come anytime. You’re always welcome, you know that.”

  “Duh. So… dare I ask?”

  Alexa rolled her eyes and opened the next box. Here it comes. “What?”

  “Have you met the neighbor?”

  “I have.”

  “And?”

  “It’s actually gone much better than I could have hoped,” Alexa said.

  “How so?”

  “Well, you know he has his nephew. Just so happened that the baby got sick and he didn’t know what to do. I helped him out. Then, today, something happened with his babysitter. So, long story short, I’m his new babysitter and I’ll be in his house alone all day every day.”

  Caitlyn blew out a long sigh. “Well, that’s great,” she said sarcastically.

  “Cait. This will allow me to poke around safely. He’ll be gone for hours at a time. I can find out what he knows and see if he was involved in any way.” She opened the drawer and searched for a spot to put her cooking utensils.

  “Yeah, until he comes home unexpectedly and catches you.”

  “You don’t think I’m better at snooping than that?”

  “I know you are,” Caitlyn said. “You used to snoop around my room all the time.”

  “Exactly. And you never caught me.”

  “But I wouldn’t have shot you if I had.”

  “You would have yelled and screamed and maybe stuck gum in my hair.” Alexa put a stack of bowls into a cabinet.

  “That’s hardly comparable to killing you. Or worse.”

  “He trusts me to take care of his baby all day. He’s not going to kill me.”

  “You can’t assume that. He might be extra pissed that he trusted you and you did something untrustworthy. That could actually make it worse.”

  Alexa shut her new junk drawer after dropping in a roll of tape. “Then I guess I just won’t get caught is all.”

  “Or you could just give it up already. You have no lack of real, paying clients.”

  “Technically, Hawk is paying me.”

  “What?” Caitlyn asked.

  “Well, to watch the baby. But while I’m watching the baby, I’ll be researching, so he’s kind of paying me to investigate.”

  “Lex, this is stupid. And dangerous.”

  “We’ve been through this. You know I can’t let this one go.”

  “Yes, you can, and you have to. It’s going to get you killed. Is that really worth it?”

  Alexa blew out a long sigh and leaned back against the edge of the counter. “I know being an administrative assistant might not mean the same to you as me being a cop. But I dedicated my life to that work. When my lieutenant told me to drop the case it just wrecked me. It was like everything I worked so hard for was nothing.”

  “But you solved lots of other cases.”

  “I don’t know how else to explain it. This happens with detectives, ask any of them. You stay in it long enough and there will be that one case. The one you got close to solving, but couldn’t for some reason. The one you dream about, think about constantly. The one that haunts you. And you can’t just let it go.”

  “Maybe you should seek therapy.”

  Alexa pushed off the counter and bent to pick up a can opener. “No, I just need to solve this case. Then I’ll be fine.”

  “But this is taking over your life. You quit your job, and might I point out this was a job you said yourself two seconds ago that was so important to you. You bought a house near the guy’s brother, and now you’re babysitting all day just to figure out who killed some guy on the street in the city? There have to be hundreds of these murders every day. Why this one?”

  “There was something about it. We got so close. The evidence was weird. It’s hard to explain if you’re not in the field, but something just felt weird from the start of this one. We always knew it was a homicide, but there were red herrings, fake evidence, tampered with evidence, false leads, cleared suspects. It wasn’t the open and shut murder it should have been. And this guy had kid. That baby deserves to know why he doesn’t have a daddy anymore.”

  “What about the kid’s mother?”

  “She died of a heroin overdose when Damian was only a month old.”

  “Quality family you got there.”

  “No,” Alexa said. “I mean, yeah Hugh was involved in the drug scene, but everyone around him who was interviewed said he didn’t use. I’m hoping Hawk can shed some light on that.”

  “Please, I’m begging you. Find a way to let this go. That baby is going to grow up thinking Hawk is his dad. He’ll have a father.”

  “So, you think that means he doesn’t deserve to know the truth?”

  “I don’t think it will matter much to him,” Caitlyn said.

  “Well, you can’t make that assumption for him. That’s not fair.”

  “Who’s this really about? Damian or you?”

  “Both.” Alexa stopped and shook her head. “No, it doesn’t matter. It’s about bringing a killer to justice and getting him off the streets before he can kill someone else.”

  “There are plenty of murders that go unsolved every year.”

  “Not on my watch, and not when I’m the one investigating. It’s one thing when there’s no evidence, no leads. But this case had too much evidence, too many leads. Whoever did it, did a good job of covering up the real tracks and pointing to everyone else. It makes sense that it would be Hawk. And if it was, then I have to make sure Damian has a safe place to go. You don’t want him being raised by a killer, do you?”

  Caitlyn sighed. “Is there anything I can say that will change your mind?”

  “Do you know me at all?”

  “I hope you have your gun on you when you’re over there. And pepper spray and whatever else you have to protect yourself.”

  “I’m always armed.”

  “Alexa. One more thing.”

  “What’s that, little sis?”

  “Whatever you do, do not go falling for this guy. That would only complicate things, and if he did it-”

  “Don’t worry.” Then Alexa added for emphasis, “I am in no way attracted to Hawk.”

  “Right. I hope you mean that at least a little bit. I’ve seen the photos. He’s hot.”

  “Are you trying to talk me into having feelings for him or out?”

  “Out. Definitely out,” Caitlyn said.

  “You’re doing a terrible job then.”

  “Whatever. I love you, butthead.”

  “Love you, too, dumbass.”

  She hung up and took a long sip of wine, emptying her glass. Her sister knew her too well. She was attracted to Hawk. Of course she was. Caitlyn was right about him being hot. But she’d already decided to ignore those feelings. And that was what she was going to do.

  Chapter 7

  After Alexa went home to work on her unpacking, Hawk paced the floor with Damian, thinking about all that had happened through the
day. He started by recalling each of his jobs that day. That got him fired up, but then he thought through the encounter with Natalie. And then he got really pissed.

  What in the world was wrong with him? She was hot and she’d been cool with him. She’d said no strings attached. She wasn’t looking for a relationship, just a good fuck. So what was the problem? Why the hell didn’t he take her up on it and just jump her? There was no good reason. He told himself it was because of Damian, but that was a cover.

  It wasn’t like him at all. He’d gotten a reputation in his MC for screwing anything that moved. And when something presented itself in such an easy way as Natalie had he normally wouldn’t have thought twice about it. Maybe it was this new fatherhood thing. Maybe it was making him soft, being with this baby all the time.

  And there was another thing nagging at him. As hard as he tried to push it back down, it was there. It crept into his mind, into his heart. Alexa. He hadn’t stopped thinking about her since the first time he saw her. And then she’d been there to help him care for Damian. She’d stayed all night and all day. She said she’d help him out watching the baby until he found a new babysitter. She was fabulous. Smart and together, gorgeous and caring. She had a thing for bikes and babies.

  But there was something else. She seemed a little too perfect. A little too convenient. Who gave up their whole day and accepted a job offer on the spot from someone they’d known a day? Something about her being so helpful reminded him of those goofy chick flicks where a mother paid a woman to change her son and all the sudden his dream woman walks into his life. Until he finds out she’s something totally different.

  He certainly didn’t have a mother to do something like that. None of the guys in his MC, those who knew him best, would pull something like that. It was too cruel in the end, likely too expensive, and they would never even think to do something like that in the first place. Hugh was gone, and there was no one else who cared so much for him that they’d hire a woman to keep him company.

  But maybe she had a different game. Some kind of gold digging thing? With her own house and car and career that seemed unlikely. Could she be some sort of baby stealer? That made him stop cold. What if he came home one day and she was gone and so was Damian? No. He had far too many connections in those sort of markets to have something like that go down without him being notified and even if it did he’d be able to recover his nephew and kill his neighbor before she got too far.

  He was being silly. He looked down at Damian and bounced him. This baby was making him nervous and worried and paranoid like he’d never been in his life.

  “It’s all your fault,” he said in a cutesy baby tone.

  Damian gurgled back at him.

  What he really needed was to get his ass to bed and see the guys. He had to get over to the Kings of Chaos headquarters. Get away from this dad life and drink some beers and shoot some pool with the guys for a while. That’d get him thinking clearer.

  He left in the morning after Alexa arrived, exactly at the time he’d asked her to. She was cheery and bright eyed, and that made him even more suspicious. But she also looked hot in her fitted top and skinny jeans.

  While he was working, he tried to figure out what her game could be. She didn’t seem to need or want anything from him. He really didn’t know much. Not enough for him to be trusting her with his baby, that was for sure. What had he been thinking leaving Damian with her without even running a background check or anything?

  He could call and have one run. Then he realized he didn’t even know her last name. What an idiot. Such a basic thing he’d completely overlooked. His face grew hot and he felt like needed to get home as quickly as possible. He had one more job that had to be done that day. The rest could wait.

  He hurried back and did not call or text her to let her know he was coming. Better that way. Keep her on her toes. He burst in through the front door.

  The kitchen and living room were empty. “Alexa?”

  He turned down the hall where the bedrooms were. A shadow moved in his bedroom, then Alexa appeared, holding Damian. He narrowed his eyes at her.

  “Oh thank, God, it’s just you,” she said. “I heard a loud bang and the door opened. I didn’t think you’d be home yet. I thought someone was breaking in so we ran to hide.”

  “In my bedroom?”

  “I thought you probably had weapons in there. Guns or knives or something, and that would make it the safest room in the house.”

  “Gosh.” She put her hand over her heart. “My heart is racing. I was scared to death.”

  “Sorry,” he said. “Come sit down. Let yourself calm down a bit.”

  She followed him into the living room where he took Damian from her and sat on the couch.

  “Early day?” she asked.

  “My schedule can be all over. Sometimes it goes like that. If I can’t find the cars I’m looking for, there’s little for me to do.”

  She nodded. “Makes sense. It’s nice being able to make my own hours. I guess I’m a little spoiled by it.”

  “What is it you do?”

  “I work from home.”

  “But what do you do while you’re working from home?”

  “Oh, I just started a private investigator business. It’s kind of fun. I get to play detective all day, figure things out, find things out about people.”

  He narrowed his eyes again. Was she finding things out about him? He had plenty to hide, and there was plenty that could be found if someone knew where to look. “Oh yeah? And what sort of things do you find out?”

  “Oh, it’s mostly jealous wives thinking their husbands are cheating. I track them online, occasional stake-outs. I don’t do that often, though. Usually, the husband isn’t really cheating. The wife is just insecure or something.”

  He stared at her. Was she for real? Suddenly, she was talking like she was clueless girl fresh out of college, new to everything. She hadn’t seemed like that at all before. She’d come off as having lived a hard life. “What did you do before?”

  “Just went to school. Community college. That was all I could afford. I worked my way through college, doing whatever I could. Retail, doctor’s office receptionist, call center worker. And watching tons of crime investigating shows in my free time.”

  “You find those informative, do you?” Those shows were a bunch of fake crap and everyone knew it.

  “No.” She laughed. “Those shows are so fake. They just kept me inspired, thinking of how I’d do that stuff for real someday, solving real crimes. Some day when I can move on from cheating husbands to real stuff like finding missing people, missing kids especially. I think that’s where it’ll really start to pay off. If I can find a kid whose parents are out of their minds with worry and bring him or her home… what’s better than that?”

  “Not much, I guess. Are you any good at your job?”

  “I’m still learning and starting out, but my clients have been happy so far. The one time I did find evidence of a cheating husband, the photos and emails I gave her was enough for her to take him to court and get more than her prenup allowed her. That was a huge win. She was devastated by what he did. She didn’t want to have to move her kids out of their home, and with my help, she didn’t have to.”

  “How many cheating wives have you caught?”

  “Surprisingly, I haven’t had a single husband come to me yet. Maybe men aren’t as suspicious as women. Or don’t have the same intuition for that sort of thing. Or maybe they just don’t care as much.”

  “I’d care if my old lady was cheating on me,” he said. “I’d have her ass.”

  “What’s what makes you special. You care. You’re raising this baby that isn’t even yours, taking on a huge responsibility. That says a lot about you, Hawk.”

  “Does it, now?”

  She pulled her mouth into a half smile. “Why do you think I’d offer to help you so much? I barely know you. But I see that you’re selfless, that you’re loyal and loving, or else
you would have let Damian go somewhere else. You were concerned when he was sick and did what you had to do for him. It takes a strong character to do all of that.”

  “You like a strong character?”

  “Who doesn’t? I don’t know anyone who would say they want someone selfish, unloving, and disloyal. Do you?”

  “I guess not. You just might be reading too much into it. I’m not that great of a guy.”